Vera Daves de Sousa, who spoke on Thursday, at a press conference to present the proposal for the General State Budget (OGE) 2025, delivered that day to the National Assembly, said that a lighter administrative structure was created for the municipalities than the previous one.
The 2025 OGE proposal provides for the provinces of Cuango, Icolo and Bengo and Moxico-Leste, budgets of 56.8 billion kwanzas, 274.7 billion kwanzas and 74.5 billion kwanzas, respectively, corresponding to 0.16 percent, 0.79 percent and 0.22 percent of the budget.
The official stressed that the country will have 21 provinces and new municipalities from next year, and it is necessary to "ensure that public services are closer to citizens and that this proximity also leads to development".
"We sought to create a new category of municipality, with a lighter administrative structure [...] because of the population density of some new municipalities, we understood that it did not justify having such a heavy structure", she highlighted.
The head of the Treasury highlighted that the new structure created has "fewer bosses, fewer directors, fewer department heads", making the process of budgeting this expense "easier, due to this new municipal administration structure that was created".
With the new political administrative division, there was an increase of 162 municipal administrations, a decrease of 140 communal administrations and an increase of three provinces, noted the minister.
Asked about the reasons for allocating low budget funds, Vera Daves de Sousa replied that "the budget is for starters".
"It's all starting, we have to establish the base, we have to establish the payroll, we have to put infrastructure there, it's really starting, we don't even know who the governor will be yet," said the governor.
"We have to give time for this team to be assembled, for the team to prepare the work plan, present its vision, then also consult the residents and then yes, we anticipate that the next proposal will come more aligned with what is normal, where we have a province that has the entire administrative apparatus created and stable", she added.
This year, in addition to the 18 existing provinces, another three were created from the division of the provinces of Luanda, Cuando Cubango and Moxico, justified by the Government with the need to promote development, a justification contested by the opposition which considers the increase in expenses for the country.
